TONEY, AL (WAFF) -
It was like any other school day at Madison Cross Roads Elementary school in
Toney on Thursday, except for one thing. A U.S. army veteran was about to
surprise his 6-year-old son in the classroom.
Mrs. Terrell's kindergarten class just returned from PE and took a
break to enjoy a snack. Little did Jamari Massey know what waited for him as he
munched on his fruit roll-up.
Later, while Jamari worked on subtraction problems, his
father walked through the door with balloons for the surprise. Jamari
leaped up and cried "daddy" as he ran into his arms.
"I knew he would be surprised and there would be a lot of crying, a lot
of tears," the father said. "He actually didn't cry. He's 6-years
old; he's all grown up."
In fact, the first thing Jamari wanted to proudly show his dad was a
tooth that recently fell out.
The father, James Massey Jr., is a 24-year veteran with the Army. He's now
retired, but he recently deployed to Afghanistan for a mission with his
company.
The father hasn't seen his sons since October, but they always talked on the
phone.
"[Jamari] was like, ‘Dad, how are you doing? Dad, when are you coming
home? Can you hurry up and come home? I'll make you come home!'" Massey
recalled.
James Massey realized he was a blessed man whenever he thought of his family
while in Afghanistan.
"I mean, really, you see all these kids run around who don't have anything.
And it makes you think about your kids," he said.
Massey and his wife, Nichole, live in the Harvest community. They have
another son who attends Sparkman High School.
Copyright 2012 WAFF. All rights reserved.
James Massey, Jr. surprised 6-year-old Jamari Massey at school with his return from Afghanistan.
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